Growing up in the NYC area, I felt starved for the natural world. When my family would leave the city for an annual vacation to the beach of the mountains, I would always try to collect animate and inanimate souvenirs of the outdoors. I already had shell and rock collections at home which could always be added to, but my highest goal was to successfully catch and keep a creature found in its natural habitat. My exploits in this pursuit often ended in tragedy- a Bullfrog tadpole lost down the bathroom sink drain, a Leopard Frog overheated in a peanut butter container left on the dashboard, a mysterious color-changing beetle misplaced by an inept classmate- I was repeatedly thwarted in my desire to bring nature into my own little world.

 

 

When I carve a Great Blue Heron on a clay tile or sculpt a Spotted Salamander, I am expressing a deeply-held desires to experience the natural world up close. By documenting and interpreting my subjects found in nature, I am in a sense making a collection that does not disturb nature, but instead increases appreciation for it. My hope is that my artwork will instill a love and wonder for our natural world in all those that see my work.